Detachable calk



Allg 19 1952 A. A. LANGER 2,607,135

DETACHABLE CALK Filed Feb. 8, 1950 BY Y q mm`w.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 19, 1952 DETACHABLE CALK Adolph Arthur Langer, Pearl River, N. Y., as signor of fifty per cent to Claude Harmon,

Mamaroneck, N. Y.

Application February 8, 1950, Serial No. 142,983

(Cl. .3G-59) This invention relates to calks for foot wear, commonly referred to as spikes, and used in climbing, sports, and other various activities, and the invention is more particularly concerned with .calks-for golf shoes.

A common' formofzcalk for golf shoes comprises an internally 'threaded holder secured to the shoe and a calk-l formed with an internally threaded head which vscrews into the holder. These calks are unsatisfactory when it becomes necessary to replace worn elements because the threads often ,become stripped, and at other times the threads become stuck so securely that the holder is broken loose in the sole when trying to unscrew the calk. In `either case it is necessary to replace the holder and this requires removal of the heel :or sole from the shoe` It is an object of this invention to provide an improved calk having a .construction which includes a calk element that is connected with a `.holder by a resilient fastening that makes it possible to extract a worn calk and snap a new calk into the holder quickly and conveniently; and without danger of breaking the holder vloose -from the shoe or otherwise damaging the shoe. In accordance with one feature of the invention `the calk is pushed into the holder with a directtranslatory or Ynon-rotaryA movement and it is pulled from the holder by a similar movement in reverse. lThis avoids any tendency to impart rotary movement to the holder `through the installing and removing of calks, Aand thus avoids danger of breakingv the holder -loose `in the shoe. `The calk foi this invention has a shank that lits closely inthe lholder so as to prevent any relative lateral movement between the calk and holder when the shoe'is'being-fvvorn.L

Another 4obiect ci the invention is to provide a =calk holder yassembly that can be connected with ishoe solesof diii'erent thicknesses. At the present ti-me,l a -manufacturer 4of shoes employing conventional calk's fi-s required to carry three sizes of holders -in 'inventoryin order -to accommodate the diierent thicknesses 'of soles used for Asport shoes. l' With this invention a single length of 'calk holder is 'suitable for all thick- `rx'esses of soles currently employed inthe man-ufacture of sport-shoes having vcalksl These and other objects, lfeatures and advantages of the invention will in ypart be obvious and in `part be more fully set forth inthe follow.- ing description, 'when read in connection with 'the accompanying drawings in whicht' Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sport shoe turned `upside downto show the cal-k assemblies of this invention connected .to the heel and sole of the shoe. Y

Fig; 2 is a greatlyv enlarged sectional view showingthe parts of the calk assembly of this invention before the holder is secured to the shoe and before the calk element is inserted in the holder.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, but

f showing the upper lend `of the calk holder bent vaniodified form of the invention.

Fig. is apview similar to Eig. v3 showing a secondmodiied form of the invention.

The calk assemblies -of thisA invention are of the type in which single calks are connected at various selected locationsv of a pattern on the heel .and sole of a shoe.

Fig. l shows a shoe-Ill with a sole Il and heel 1,2. vCazlk assemblies l5 are connected With a shoe as shown, there being seven vcalks in the sole I i and four calks inthe heel I2.

The lpreferred embodiment of the invention comprises a longitudinal hollow calk holder I6 (Fig. 2) made of suitably hard wearing mate rial such as steel and of suitable dimensions to fit with otherholders through the outer sole l l, or throughV the lift of the heel L2. Preferably the holder is .circular in cross section, .but it may be of anydesired practical contour.

Each of the calk holders comprises a center tubular portion -I8 and a iiange I9 extending radially from the rlower end of the tubular portion I 8. The :inner :face of the ange 1 9 contacts with the outside surface of the outer sole H. 'With the holder in this position, the upper end of the tubular `portieri -IB extends through and beyond the inside surface of the sole ll. The sole shown liniFigsuZ and 3 has athickness which is substantially equal to thev greatest thickness with lwhich the holder I6 :is intended to be used, though the .holder :can be V used with thinner soles, 4as will Abe explained andlllilsilaied 'Il Connection rwith Fig. 4i.

In order to secure the calk .holder to the sole il, that portion .of lthe holder which 'extends beyondl fthe innerl face of the sole `l I is Vpeened over and bent outwardly and downwardly over the adjacent face of the sole, as shown in Fig. 3, to rivet the holder to the sole. This serves to secure the holder in place and prevent any significant movement.

The opening through the calk holder i6 is of two diameters. The lower portion, which is of reduced diameter, comprises a cylindrical bearing 2i for holding a calk; and the upper portion, having the larger diameter, is of reduced wall thickness and is the part of the calk holder that is bent outwardly and downwardly to rivet the holder to the sole. The difference in the wall thicknesses of the holder created by the differences in inside diameters provides a recess or seat 23 at which the inside wall of the holder converges downwardly and inwardly. The seat 23 can have its surface at right angles to the side walls but is preferably a frustro-conical surface so as to facilitate removal of the calks when they become worn and require replacement.

A spike 25 made in accordance with this invention comprises a head or shank 26 that flts the cylindrical bearing 2l of the calk holder. A circumferential groove 28 in the shank 26, preferably located near the upper end of the shank, holds an open circular spring comprising a snap ring 3B. The entrance at the lower end of the opening through the holder I6 is flared to facilitate entrance of the calk 25 and for the purpose v of providing a cam action that will compress the snap ring Sii-into the circumferential groove 28. The snap ring 3B is of such a size when fully expanded, that a portion of it remains in the groove 28.

When the calk is inserted into the holder I, a shoulder 32 on the calk contacts with the outer face of the flange I-S and limits the calk to a predetermined penetration into the holder I6. When thus inserted as far as possible into the holder IS, the circumferential groove 28 is at the level of the seat 23, and the snap ring 30 contacts with the tapered face of the seat 23 to retain the calk in the holder.

The advantage of the moderate taper of the seat 23 is that the construction accommodates itself to substantial manufacturing tolerances for the distances from the shoulder 32 to the circumferential groove 28, and from the face of the flange I9 to the seat 23.

Fig. 3 shows the upper portion I8 of the calk holder peened over to form a riveted upper end 34 which overlies the inside face of the sole il and which is preferably pressed down hard enough to partially embed or countersink the bent over end 34 into the inside face of the sole II. The advantage of this construction is that an inner sole 36 overlying the upper end of the calk holder remains relatively at, and if the insole is of suicient thickness, no consequent protrusions are Vcaused by the calk holders.

Fig. 4 shows the same construction as Fig. 3 when applied to a thinner sole 4I. It will be evident that the upper end portion I8 of the calk holder extends above the inner face of the sole 4I for a greater distance than it did with the thicker sole II of Fig. 3. When the upper portion I 8 is bent outwardly and downwardly to rivet the calk holder to the sole 4I, the bent over ends 44 extend further out radially from the axes of the calk holder and thus accommodate the additional length of metal that extended above the inside face of the sole.

This comparison of Figs. 3 and 4 illustrates one of the features of the invention. It will be evident that there exists a constant relationship between the position of the seat 23 of the calk holder, the snap ring 30 and the shoulder 32, regardless of the thickness of the sole to which the calk assembly is attached. This isi made possible by inserting the calk holder from: the outside of the sole so that dilferences n thickness of the sole material are made up at? the inner end of the calk holder.

The calk element 25 has a pointed portion 46`| below the shoulder 32, and has a recess, prefer-- ably an annular groove 41, immediately below the shoulder 32 to permit the insertion of the jaws of a plier-like tool that is used for withdrawing the calk from the holder, such withdrawal being effected by pulling with a direct axial translatory or nonrotary movement; and the' insertion of the calk being effected with a. similar movement in reverse.

When the calk assembly of this invention is used with leather soles, the leather of the outer sole may expand when wet.V Such a force as is exerted by expansion of the leather is not sulficient to bend the riveted upper ends of the calk holder and will merely result in having the bent over portions 34 or 44 embedded slightly further in the inside face of the Vsole II or 4I. It is an advantage of the invention, however, that the force exerted by the expansion of the leatheris not exerted against the calkand has no tendency whatever to pull the calk out of the holder.

Fig. 5 shows a top View of the calk assembly with the riveted upper end portion 34 ofv the holder extending outward over the top surface of the sole II. The upper end of the holder is preferably made of malleable metal so that it can be bentv sharply without danger of breaking at the bend, and the metal may stretch substantially or may divide into tabs, as shown in Fig. 5 when peened over, the strength of the riveted endbeing substantially unaffected either way.

Figure 6 shows a modified form of the invention in which a large ornamental' washer 50 is secured to the calk 25 as a flange just above the shoulder 32. The shank of the calk is made somewhat longer in this modification to compensate for the added distance, between the washer or flange 50 and the circumferential groove 28, made Vnecessary by the locating of the flange 50 above the shoulder 32. This ange 50 is dished upwardly and is preferably so shaped that it contacts with the bottom of a ange 5I of the calk holder and also touches the outside face of the sole 4I. In the preferred construction the flange =5Il touches the outside face of the sole just beforeit comes into contact with the flange I9 of the calk holder so that the upper circumferential edge of the flange 50. displaces the leather under it slightly and provides a tight nt against the leather for preventing entrance of dirt into the space between the ilange 50 and the face of the sole above it.

The flange 5I of the calk holder is somewhat smaller in the construction shown in Fig. 6 than in the construction illustrated in Figs. 2-4, but the calk holder is otherwise the same. The pressure exerted against the pointed portion of the calk is transmitted through the ange 5t to the flange 5I of the calk holder and also to the face of the sole around the circumference of the iiange 5D where it contacts the bottom of the sole.

,In the constructions shown in Figs. 3 and 4,

tia-1 groove and part way across the seat toretain the calk element in the holder.' c

A4. A calk assembly for usewith 4a sport-shoe having one or moreopenings through itssole for receiving calk assemblies, saidas'sembly including a holder which is tubular and which has `a flangeat its lower end and a 'riveted upper end that overlies the, inside face' of the sole for securing the calk holder tothe sole,a calk having a shank that iits, witha longitudinally sliding fit, into `the hollow interior ofthe holder, resilientV and yieldable fastening means yieldably re-` taining the calk in' the holder, `an upwardly dished water comprising a different piece :from the holder and calk but held by the calk against the bottom of the holder and extending radially from the calkimmediately below the holder and having a circumferential edge that contacts with the sole, and a pointed portion ofthe calk below the washer.

5. A calk assembly for connection with a sole of a sport shoe, said assembly comprising a tubular holder having a radially extending flange at its lower end and having an upwardly extending portion longer than the thickness of the thickest sole with which the holderisI intended to be used, a seat within the holder formed by a portion of the inside Wall of the holder converging inwardly anddownwardly, the wall of the holder above the seatbeing thinner than the wall below the seat for the purpose of riveting the holder to they sole, the distance from the seat to the upper faceof the flange being less than the lthickness of the thinnest sole with which the spike holder is intended to be used, the opening through the holder being of substantially uniform cross section for a substantial distance downward belowthe seat, a calk element having a shank portion that ts, with a longitudinally sliding fit, the opening through the holder below the seat, a shoulder on the calk element limiting the extent to which the calk element can be inserted into the holder, and an element carried by the calk element and cooperating with the seat in the holder for retaining the calk element in the holder.

6. A calk for sport shoes, said calk comprising an upper shank portion Vhaving an outside bearing surface for insertion in a calk holder of a shoe, said bearing surface being of uniform diameter` and having a longitudinally smooth outside surface except for a recess intermediate the upper and lower ends of the bearing surface for cooperation with resilient fastening means for retaining the calk in the holder, a lower portion pointed at one end and integrally connected with the shank portion at the other end, vthe lower portion of the calk being of .larger cross section than the shankportion at the region where the lower portion and shank portion of the calk merge and forming a shoulder at said region for limiting the extent to which the calk vcan be inserted into the holder. Y

'7. A calk for sport shoes, said calk comprising a substantially cylindrical upper shank portion for holding the spike in a tubular spike holder on a shoe, the cylindrical surface having a circumferential groove therein near the upper end of the shank portion, a snap ring in the groove and projecting part way beyond the cylindrical surface when normally expanded, a lower part of the calk of one-piececonstruction with the shank portion andshaped with a point 'at one Yend and a cross section larger than the shank portion of the calk` at the other end where the vshank portion and lower part of the calk merge together, a shoulder formed b y the change in cross section of the calk for determining the extent to which the calk can be inserted into the holder, and a circumferential groove below the shoulder for receiving a tool for extracting the calk from a holder when worn or broken.

8. A replaceable shoe calk comprising an upper shank portion having a cross section and smooth surface shaped to t slidably into a calk holder in which it is intended to be used, and having a recess near its upper end for cooperation with resilient fastening means for retaining the calk in the holder, a washer connected with the calk at the lower end of the shank portion, said washer extending outwardly from the calk and being dished upwardly toward the end of the calk having the shank portion, and a pointed lower end of the calk extending downward from the washer. V

9. A calk holder assembly comprising a tubular portion for extending through an opening in a shoe sole, an outwardly extending ange at the lower end of the tubular portion, said flange having a substantially fiat annular face that contacts with the bottom surface of the shoe sole, and having a dished portion beyond the annular face with a top surface that is located at some distance below the annular face inthe region immediately adjacent to the circumferential edge of the annular face, and having an upper and outer edge located at a level slightly higher than the annular face so that said outer edge will be embedded in the surface `of the shoe sole when the annular face is pressed firmly against the bottom surface of the sole.

ADOLPH ARTHUR LANGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,149,893 Lehwald Mar. 7, 1939 2,222,747 Klein et al. Nov. 26, 1940 i 2,235,774 Pierce et al Mar. 18, 1941 2,299,927 Pierce et al. Q Oct. 27, 1942 2,315,874 VSahel et al Apr. 16, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 434,343 Germany Sept. 23, 1926 

